"The Universe may one day perish,
but my vows are eternal."
mASTER SHENG YEN
Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) was a widely respected Chan master, Buddhist scholar, and author who taught Chan meditation extensively in the West during the last 32 years of his life, with dozens of centers throughout North America (including the Dharma Drum Retreat Center) and worldwide.
He founded Dharma Drum Mountain, one of the largest Buddhist organizations in Taiwan, with the mission of bringing peace and harmony to the world by sharing the Buddha’s teachings and the practice of Chan with mainstream society.
During his life, Master Sheng Yen had well-regarded dialogues with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, received numerous awards for his contributions, and wrote over one hundred books in Chinese and English. His unbounded wisdom and compassion continue to serve as a ray of light, inspiring many to follow the Dharma today.
VISION
Creating a Harmonious Global Society Through Spiritual Environmentalism
The purity or impurity of the human mind shapes how we perceive life and the world, and in turn, determines the purity or impurity of the world we inhabit. Realizing this truth, the Buddha shaped his teachings and actions to guide people to live a diligent, simple, and peaceful life. Following the steps of the Buddha and the great sages before him, Master Sheng Yen introduced the idea of Spiritual Environmentalism to promote the purification of minds among the public, ultimately leading to world harmony.
Master Sheng Yen emphasized that when the mind is pure for a single thought, one experiences a world of peace in that very moment. Likewise, when tens, hundreds, or even thousands of people share the same aspiration to cultivate purity within a single thought, there will be tens, hundreds, or thousands of people who perceive a world of peace at that time. This idea was found in the Records of Axiom Mirror written by Chan Master Yongming Yanshou (904-975 AD), which repeatedly states: “When your mind accords during one thought, you are the Buddha in one thought. When your mind accords from one thought to another, you are the Buddha from one thought to another.”
While achieving complete purity of all minds may be a distant goal, the idea of Spiritual Environmentalism serves as a beacon of light to many at Dharma Drum Mountain on their spiritual paths. Through sharing Buddha’s teachings and teaching the practice of Chan with the world, we create positive ripples that gradually uplift human character and foster global harmony.
Busy with nothing, growing old.
Within emptiness, weeping, laughing.
Intrinsically, there is no “I.”
Life and death, thus cast aside.
Master Sheng Yen's last teaching, his death poem.
LIFE
Early Life
Master Sheng Yen was born in 1930 into a farming family in a small village in Jiangsu, China. He lived through floods, droughts, and years of war and suffered from malnutrition and illnesses in his childhood. Despite his trying circumstances, he revealed his unique character at an early age.
Once, as a child, Master Sheng Yen was fortunate enough to be given a whole banana for himself. When he sank his teeth into the banana, the first he had ever tasted, he was so overwhelmed by its delicious flavor that he could not bring himself to take a second bite. Instead, he carefully saved the remainder, which was already beginning to darken, so he could take it to school to let his classmates taste for themselves its wondrous flavor.
When he saw the smiling faces of his friends, each enjoying a small bite of the banana, he felt a profound joy in sharing and caring for others. This same joy resurfaced later in life when Master Sheng Yen encountered the Dharma and made a vow to share the wonderful Buddhadharma with the world.
Becoming a Novice Monk
In 1943, at age 13, Master Sheng Yen voluntarily followed a neighbor to Guangjiao Monastery in Wolf Hills to become a monk, taking the Dharma-name Chang Jin. He spent most of his time learning the ritual aspects of monastery life and performing funeral rites for lay practitioners.
As a young novice, he was required to memorize the thick Daily Recitations for Chan monastics. Master Sheng Yen, who only had a fourth-grade education at the time, was vexed by this arduous task. Every morning, he rose before sunrise to prostrate himself before Guanyin 500 times, praying to and visualizing Guanyin Bodhisattva sprinkling ambrosian dew on his head to bless him with wisdom.
Soon, the young Chang Jin was able to memorize the recitations and understand his master’s lectures. This brought him great surprise and joy, and he discovered that the Dharma, profound and subtle, could actually transform and liberate people.
Master Shen Yen often said: “The Buddhadharma is so great, yet so many people misunderstand it, and so few people are willing to accept it.” Having greatly benefited from the Buddhadharma, Master Sheng Yen made a grand commitment: he would do his best to understand and spread the Dharma, using the Dharma to help people come out of suffering and attain happiness.
Moving to Taiwan as a Solider
In 1949, at age 18, in the midst of the defeat of the Nationalists in the civil war with the Communists, Master Sheng Yen enlisted in a unit of the Nationalist army to flee to Taiwan as the only way to escape the religious persecutions to come.
Despite being a soldier, Master Sheng Yen still regarded himself as a monastic and longed to take up his monastic robes again and return to the path to enlightenment.
Master Sheng Yen spent most of his time reading extensively on Buddhist literature, observing life in the lay world, and wondering about the origins of life. Gradually, his mind was immersed in a great ball of doubt that would soon shatter during his encounter with Master Lingyuan.
One night in 1958 at the Kaohsiung Buddhist Hall, he had a powerful epiphany under the guidance of Master Ling Yuan, a lineage disciple of the legendary Master Xu Yun. The strong feeling of release swept over his whole being, where Master Sheng Yen later recalled the sensation felt as if “life suddenly exploded out of the tin can” in which he had imprisoned it.
Returning to Monastic Life
In 1960, after ten years of service in the army, Master Sheng Yen was re-ordained by Master Dong Chu, taking the Dharma name Sheng Yen (sacred adornment).
The next year, Master Sheng Yen took up a solitary retreat in southern Taiwan that lasted six years. During his retreat, he placed equal emphasis on meditative practice and doctrinal learning. First, he studied the precepts, then the Agama sutras. Based on this study, he wrote Essentials of the Precepts and Orthodox Chinese Buddhism, the latter of which has been translated into Vietnamese and sold more than three million copies. With regard to practice, Master Sheng Yen used the method of “no-thought” during seated meditation, and he blended martial arts and yoga to create “Chan in Motion,” which later became an important element of the seven-day retreats he leads.
Advancing Buddhist Studies in Japan
During his solo retreat, having long reflected on the development of Chinese Buddhism and looking for a means to reinvigorate Chinese Buddhist culture and education, Master Sheng Yen made a firm resolve to go to Japan to study when his retreat ended. The Master’s objective in becoming a scholar was to raise the status of Buddhism within Taiwanese society, and to make people understand that Buddhism, placing equal emphasis on learning and practice, is a repository of human wisdom.
In 1969, at age 40, Master Sheng Yen was admitted to Risshō University in Tokyo. Despite his straitened economic circumstances, Master Sheng Yen never wavered in his resolve to study. He earned his master’s degree and later became the first Chinese monk to obtain a Ph.D.
In addition to his university studies, while in Japan, Master Sheng Yen also took part in numerous retreats at Japanese monasteries. These retreats made him aware of the differences between Japanese Zen and Chinese Chan and enabled him to incorporate the best elements of both traditions into a Chan teaching appropriate to the modern world.
Spreading the Buddhadharma in the West
In 1975, after earning his doctorate, Master Sheng Yen began to spread the Dharma and teach meditation in the United States at the invitation of the Buddhist Association of the United States.
The beginning journey was especially difficult; Master Sheng Yen and his students once wandered the unfamiliar streets of New York City for as long as six months. Yet, back then, the master never felt that he was suffering. On the contrary, he said, “Those were happy times. People often say, “In spreading the Dharma, the body is forgotten.” I finally had a taste of what it’s like to sleep on the earth with the sky as my ceiling.”
And so, with this resilient spirit, for the next 32 years, Master Sheng Yen established the Chan Meditation Center in New York City, the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in Pine Bush, and over fifty affiliated Chan practice centers around the world. He journeyed to the four corners of the Earth, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Russia, even to places like Czechoslovakia and Croatia, where the Dharma has rarely been heard.
Committing to Eternal Vow
In 2006, having endured chronic illness for several years, Master Sheng Yen ended his journey in the United States and returned to Taiwan, where he spent the remainder of his life. On February 3, 2009, at the age of 79, Master Sheng Yen departed the mortal realm.
As stipulated in his will, Master Sheng Yen forbade his followers and disciples from collecting his relics and constructing monuments or statues after his passing. His ashes were divided into five sections and buried in the Memorial Life Garden at Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan.
Master Sheng Yen was a warm, insightful, and inspirational teacher who provided people with guidance on their life journey and helped them find its fundamental meaning. Yet all this time, Master Sheng Yen remained an ordinary monk, never derailed from the compassionate vow he made long before he became a famous Chan Master: “The Universe may one day perish, but my vows are eternal.”
“When I listen to Master Sheng Yen’s presentation of Chan Buddhist teachings, my immediate and very profound feeling is that I am listening to words of wisdom from someone who is very experienced and a great practitioner."
— His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama
“Chan Master Sheng Yen is a great teacher and I have great confidence in his scholarship and wisdom. I feel privileged to be his friend, and admire what he has been doing for the Buddhadharma in the East as well as in the West."
— Thich Nhat Hanh, founder of Plum Village
CONTRIBUTIONS
Advocating and Facilitating Buddhist Education
Master Sheng Yen was a forward-looking religious leader who believed: “If we don’t educate today, Buddhism in Taiwan will have no tomorrow.” He established the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, encouraged Buddhist research, and transcended sectarian boundaries through academic exchanges with Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism. Moreover, he introduced into Taiwan an international academic perspective on Buddhism, seeking to bring greater depth and breadth to Taiwan’s Buddhist studies and education.
With Master Sheng Yen’s support, many sutras were made available in electronic format, and a Buddhist studies database and digital museum were established. These convenient tools not only facilitate Buddhist studies but have also opened up new avenues for future research. At last, the myriad sutras in numerous tomes are no longer difficult to access.
Master Sheng Yen founded another monumental institution, the Buddhist Seminary of Dharma Drum Sangha University, in 2001 with the vision of cultivating true Buddhist monastics who embody the essence and spirit of Chinese Buddhism, contribute to international religious and academic circles, and usher in a new era for Buddhism. The university provides a complete and practical training environment for aspiring monastics, offering a four-year Buddhist studies program and a six-year Chan Practice program. Since its founding, the university has educated and trained over 100 monastics who now serve at various Dharma Drum Mountain institutional units and monastic divisions around the world.
Modernizing Buddhism for Globalization
Master Sheng Yen’s extensive travels around the world led to adjustments to his teachings, originally rich in Chinese flavor, in light of his perceptive observations and teaching experience gained along the way. Master Sheng Yen developed a Chan teaching that transcended ethnic and cultural boundaries, one that integrated the traditional and the modern into a form that both East and West could accept.
Master Sheng Yen’s system of thought has two major components. On the one hand, it follows the traditions of the major schools of Chinese Buddhism and the Chan school that forms the core of his thought. On the other hand, it looks back to the essence of original Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, which are also concerned with adapting the Dharma to modern times and different places and cultures.
He guided practitioners into the world of Chan by presenting Chan in terms that modern people can easily grasp. His teachings also encourage practitioners to apply what they have learned to their workaday lives—after all, Chan is about living in the moment. Because his approach and methods reveal how closely Chan is woven into daily life, many find Master Sheng Yen’s teachings profoundly effective in bringing calm and clarity to their minds.
Leaving Lasting Footprints in Hearts and Places
Master Sheng Yen was an exemplary leader of contemporary Chinese Buddhism. In 1989, he founded Dharma Drum Mountain to share the benefits of the Buddhadharma and initiated the movement of Spiritual Environmentalism, which encouraged us to purify the environment by first purifying our minds. A dedicated scholar and prolific writer, Master Sheng Yen authored more than 120 books, along with numerous monographs and essays, spanning subjects as diverse as Tiantai and Huayan philosophy, vinaya, Buddhist scriptural commentary, Indo-Tibetan and East Asian Buddhist history, Chan Buddhist studies, and comparative religion.
Master Sheng Yen led over two hundred international seven-day Chan retreats and spoke at major international conferences, including the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations in 2000, as well as at over seventy Western universities. His profound understanding of the Buddhadharma, combined with a remarkable ability to convey complex Buddhist teachings in clear and accessible language, left a lasting impact—and continues to do so—on all who encountered him, whether in person or through his works.
LINEAGE
Dharma Drum Lineage
The Chan tradition traces its origins to the story of Śākyamuni Buddha twirling a flower and smiling, silently transmitting the Dharma to Mahākāśyapa. In India, this transmission continued for twenty-eight generations. The twenty-eighth patriarch, Bodhidharma, later established the Chan lineage in China.
From Bodhidharma to Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, the Chan school maintained a tradition of single transmission. After Master Huineng, the tradition expanded like a blossoming five-petaled flower. Linji, Caodong, Weiyang, Fayan, and Yunmen emerged as the five major lineages of Chinese Chan. From the Song dynasty onward, Linji and Caodong became the predominant schools and were later transmitted to Japan, where they developed into the Rinzai and Sōtō traditions, respectively.
Master Sheng Yen was a Dharma heir of both the Linji and Caodong traditions. He received the Caodong Dharma transmission from Master Dong Chu in 1976 and the Linji Dharma transmission from Master Ling Yuan two years after. In addition to teaching Linji’s Huatou method of Chan meditation, he played a pivotal role in reviving and transmitting Caodong’s practice of Silent Illumination within modern Buddhism.
Having mastered both methods, Master Sheng Yen integrated the teachings of various Indian and Chinese Buddhist traditions. He also drew upon practices from Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, incorporated the samatha practices of Southeast Asian Buddhism and the gradual path of the Tibetan tradition. Through this comprehensive synthesis, he formally established the Dharma Drum School of Chinese Chan in 2005.
Master Sheng Yen transmitted his Dharma lineage to approximately twenty monastic and lay practitioners. His Western Dharma heirs include Simon Child, Gilbert Gutierrez, Žarko Andričević, and the late Dr. John Crook. Today, these Dharma heirs continue to share Buddhist teachings and the Chan methods of Master Sheng Yen with communities around the world.
Dive deeper to learn about the Dharma Drum Lineage here.
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